Orthopedic device



Sept. l2, 1933. H. R, BYNUM 1,926,033

ORTHOPEDIC DEVICE Filed April 20, 1931 Patented Sept. 12, 1933 UNITEDSTATES PATENT GFFICE 1 Claim.

My said invention relates to an orthopedic device, intended forrelieving various abnormal conditions of the feet. It is well known thatthe feet are often distorted by shoes which do 5 not t properly as, forexample, shoes which are too short. Such shoes prevent the foot fromextending to its normal length and the natural effect is to cause thefoot to spread at about the line where the toes are joined to the footproper. It is impracticable to apply pressure directly to the joints forbringing the foot back to the normal position of its parts, since thiscauses irritation and pain to the patient. One object of my invention isto provide means in connection with the footwear which applies pressureto the sides of the foot just back of the joints at the rear end of thetoes, whereby the pressure will not fall directly on the joints but onthe bones of the foot back of such joints. In this "20, way thenecessary pressure can be applied for straightening out the toes tonormal position, all without any undue pain or irritation.

In the practice of my invention I use what may be called cushion ballfootwear, i. e., the footwear has embodied therein a resilient mass orenlargement at the point where pressure is intended to be applied tothefoot. Various kinds of pads have heretofore been used for the purpose ofproducing pressure on a part of "Jo the foot and also for otherpurposes, but these pads have not been connected to the footwear andtherefore show a decided tendency to wander away from the place ofapplication due to the relative movement of parts occurring in walkingor otherwise moving the foot either with or relatively to the shoe. Padshave also been anchored in place in the treatment of the feet, either bybandages wrapped about the foot and in other ways known to those skilledin the art 401 but, so far as I know, it is new to anchor such pads inplace by forming them permanently on the foot covering, whether this beashoe or a stocking or the like.

Referring to the drawing, which is made a part of this application andin which similar reference characters indicate similar parts,

Fig. 1 is a plan of a shoe with the devices of my invention appliedthereto, parts being broken away for clear disclosure,

Fig. 2, a side elevation of a shoe having parts broken away for similarreasons,

Fig. 3, a horizontal section of a shoe,

Fig. 4, a vertical section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5, a partial elevation of a sock having my improvements appliedthereto, and

Fig. 6, a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

In the drawing, reference character 10 indicates a shoe having an outerlayer 11, usually made of leather or other very durable material. Aninner layer of cloth or the like is indicated at 12. Between the layers11 and 12 a pair of resilient pads 13 are anchored at opposite sides ofthe shoe, as by inserting the lower ends of the pads between the insoleand the outersole `of the shoe and fastening all these parts together.

The pads 13 may be made of any suitable resilient material and ofsuitable thickness for the purpose of applying pressure to themetatarsal bones in such a way as to bring them back to normal position,these bones being ordinarily sprung outwardly somewhat at the frontends, adjacent their point of connection to the bones of the toes, whichare commonly turned in to an abnormal position in the case oftroublesome feet. It will be understood that the pads in different pairsof shoes will be of different thickness and differently positionedaccording to the nature of condition to be treated, i.e., they may be atdifferent points along the length of the shoe or otherwise differentlypositioned to suit conditions, being preferably anchored at their lowerends between the outer sole and the inner sole, though they canalternatively be fastened in some other way between the outer and theinner lining of the shoe. In most cases the condition to be remediedwill require pressure at the sides of the foot, so as to bear againstthe metatarsal bones back of the joint with the phalanges, but in othercases pressure will need to be exerted downwardly upon one or more ofthe metatarsal bones back of such joint and the pads must be locatedaccording to the need of the patient. It will be understood 'that thisis intended to be done at the factory where the shoes are made and thatpreferably a dealer will carry in stock the various styles of shoesnecessary for treatment of the various abnormal conditions found in thefeet of patients. The pad is intended to be soft so that it will protectthe ball of the foot by providing soft contact points, as compared withthe hard surface of the ordinary leather used in the upper of a shoe.The purpose may be stated as essentially to apply pressure opposed tothat which has caused the abnormal condition and thereby return the footto normal and comfortable position while affording opportunity for thestretched ligaments to return gradually to their normal length andcondition, or at least to re- 110 lieve pain when the ligaments havebecome permanently distorted.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated how a cushion ball pad 14 may beapplied to or incorporated in a stocking or sock l5. It is intended thatthe pad be permanently secured to the stocking and While the pad isshown in Fig. 6 as being in one piece it will preferably, though notnecessarily, be in two parts, one at Veach side of the foot as in thecase of the shoe hereinbefore described. Whether the pad be in one ormore parts it may be sewed to the stocking or otherwise permanentlysecured in the desired position for treatment of the foot.

In a preferred form of the stocking the cushion ball pad may beincorporated in the stocking during the process of manufacture by sup.-plying a thick heavy soft yarn to the knitting needles for a part onlyof each course in the stocking from the point indicated at 16 in Fig. 6to the point indicated at 17, so that there will be a heavily reinforcedarea at the sides of the foot and underneath the same or even at thesides only, in which 'latter case the yarn would have to be fed to andremoved from the needles twice in each course of knitting.Y Thereinforcing yarn would be supplied to the needles only over such asuitable part of the length of the stocking as for example thatindicated in Fig. 5. Such a cushioning arrangement knitted into thestocking or otherwise permanently secured thereto will hold its placewith greater certainty than if an attempt were made to bandage the footwithout an adhesive.

Such soft resilient cushions as herein described are of great advantagein that they make it possible for each joint of the toes to form its ownmatrix and thus give the greatest ease to the foot, since naturally thebony parts will make a deeper imprint than will softer parts' and thesecushions permit such action whereas the upper of a shoe does not do soto any great extent and the inner sole is generally quite distinctlynon-yielding.

It will be understood that numerous changes may be made in the device ofmy invention as above described all without departing from the spirit ofthe invention and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown inthe drawing and Vdescribed in the specification but only as indicated inthe appended claim.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A shoe having resilient pads between the outer layer and the lining ofthe shoe in position to press only against the outermost metatarsals atopposite sides of the foot behind the joints between the metatarsals andthe phalanges, the pressure being exerted only at the rear of suchjoints.

HUGH R. BYNUM.

ico

iis

